Arizona weekly citizen., 1887-10-01
BATTLE FLAT FIGHT
Col. Bigicw Interviewed on the Subject Interesting Incide nts and Details.

The Journal Miner repEeseniatIse set ont tals mornir 2 to verify the pRrlISd- lars of the Indian fight, as published m the last issue. as taken from San Der nardIno. California. paper. The rsc'l- lections of The old, st inhabitants sem to be rather ind!sIiDct as to the details of the Indian fight Mir. BInkiey was ID, but they all said "Old BIgeIow cs1 tell you."
 We had the pleasure of meeting Col. Fl. A. BIzelow m togn, anu smuggling him into the ssnctum. got a solid hours talk about the old times.
 Col. Bigelow. Col. King $. WOolsey, and Col. John C. Cspron were OolOneis of ,he ArIzans militia. on the staff of John N. GoodSin, the first governor of Arizona. Noolsey died in Phenix few years ago. Cspron l. ID San DIeg-, It IS supposed. BlgelOw Is mining on Slate creek, snd the head of tue Hsesay Hmpa, ana to judye from bis talk does not like ap Indian any more than BinkIey does.
 He says that he was living at Walnut Grove. engaged with Vlckruy and Swii- ling In placer mining, m the spring or 1884. The Indians were on the rampage in those dsys. The Iontos were the ones who made the most trouble-ilvlng 100 miles east ot Prescott; they would come into this section in force, sweeping through the mining and agricultural settlements like cyclone, kill, burn and destroy, gather up all the horses snd cattle they could get hold of, and dis appear, leaving only devastation behind. In March, '64. one Of these mursudlng parties struck Walnut Grove, killing three white men in the canyon, tEo miles below the site of the dam of the Walnut Grove Water Storage company now building. snd five MeKicans on toe trail between Walnut Grove and the mining town of We sver.
 Bbout the 10th of May, '64. the party Binkley was in left Walnut Grove. on a prospecting expedition. His narration of the trouble IS about correct All oi the old timers know otIt as "the Bat tie Flat fight" One of the rsidine gangs of the Tonto tribe wsylsid tbr party snd bounced them ss they arose ! from their sleep ID the morning. having previously taken possession of sll the animals belonging to the party. Ever! one of the five was wounded at the first attack. The fight was kept up from sun rise till the middle of the afternoon. | Henry had stsvorite saddle horse which the redskins killed, roasted, aDi ate oD the hillside in his sIght, but out Of riff shot. The fact that the party were jus! starting out and had plenty Of ammuni- ton was all that saved them from ami hiIstion
 When the Indians fell back iu the afternoon, Fred Henry and BiDkley the only two ot the party able to travel. leil for Walnut Grove and raised the miDeTs and party went out and brought ID the three wounded men to White x Bnghts ranch in Walnut Grove-not 10 Prescott as Binkley is said to have stated. There they were cared for. Fred. Henry wa' shot in one arm BInkley was shot with a bullet or Rn arrow, which cut the bridge of his nose out. and knocked oD' eye out Col BIgelOw says he mei
 Binkley in Prescott several years sgo, and talked these things over.
 There IS sn immense amount of sen sstionsl history ID the memories of the early settlers of ArIzons If 1t could b. got at, bu, those days are peculiarly l their Apache business. One thing T. certain, the Apeches were conquered Many of them were killed. but the edi- tor of this sheet has never yet found au old settler O. AriZona who would ad- nit that he had ever killed sn IndIau Our reporter asked Col. Bigelow direct Iy this: Colonel. did you ever kill an h. disnY' He replied, "I sm not positive that I did, but I am sure thst no In l dian ever killed me."-JonrnBl-Miner